Women for Women International (WfWI) works with the most
marginalized women in conflict-affected countries to help them move
from poverty and isolation to self-sufficiency and empowerment.
WfWI has been implementing its Signature Program (Figure 1), an
economic and social empowerment program, in North and South
Kivu provinces in DRC since 2004. WfWI worked with researchers at the University of Washington
and University of Texas at Austin and the data collection firms
Marakuja Kivu Research and the Innovative Hub for Research in
Africa (IHfRA) to conduct a 24-month randomized control trial (RCT)
in four communities in South Kivu province. The primary objective of
the study was to measure the impact of WfWI’s Signature Program
on women’s livelihoods, savings and assets, social empowerment,
wellbeing, and social assets one year after program completion.
Researchers also examined how men’s engagement activities for
male spouses, partners, and other household members impacted
women’s economic and social empowerment outcomes.